When You Look Into Hell
by ZoologyKaM
Summary: I once was a soldier of Meekrob. I once had a family, and friends. I once had a life, and my mind was whole. But that was before... before the Irkens came. This is what happens when you don't give them what they want. This is what happens... when hell finds you and won't let you leave. [Warning] Torture Fic.
1. Day 1

**_A/N: _**_Another story from me and this one is going to be my biggest challenge ever!_

_His name is Volt. He's of the Meekrob species. He was a soldier in the military when the Irken's attacked. What happens in the two weeks when this story takes place would scar him forever. **[WARNING] This is a Torture fic, and will be gruesome.** _

_This is what happens when you don't give the Irkens what they want. _

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**Day 1**

It was a simple mission. Go in under the cover of the cover of a solar flare; find any survivors in the decimated town, and get them to the hidden city; a cut and dry mission that my team had pulled off over 10 times in the past month since the arrival of the Irken's invasion force.

When the flare started we made our move into the town. Myself along with my second in command Corporal Marl, Lance Corporal Triff and Private Keef, broke off to the south side while the rest of my team headed north. The plan was to rendezvous on the west side. Had I known that my team would never meet, I never would have brought them into that place.

My group had searched 15 homes and 3 shops, while recovering 9 live-lights (military code for living Meekrob individuals) and soiling any supplies we came across that could not be carried with us. Lance Corporal Tiff and Corporal Marl were both carrying an injured live-light, they were waiting outside in a hidden stairwell while Private Keef and I checked out another store we came across.

The shop front door was completely blocked by debris. Keef and I made our way around back where we were able to located a broken window. Keef is a small boy so he was able to float through without touching the broken glass; unfortunately I was not quite as lucky. My lower right tentacle received a scratch along the base; energy loss was minimal considering my large base store. The scratch healed quickly enough. The small fizzle of my healing barely made a blip on my radar.

Once inside I headed to the upper floors while the Keef checked the ground floor.

"Hello!? If you can hear my voice release a 5amp flash!" I called out into the smoke filled hallway as I floated to the first open doorway. The first room was relatively intact. There was a small hole in the wall but the bed along the opposite wall looked completely untouched. Either way, the sight of that bed made my essence shudder. It was a child's bed.

A call came from the stairs as Keef gave the signal for finding someone and clearing the floor; a short 5amp flash followed by a mid-length 7amp burst. Even through the smoke, the light traveled up the stairs to my position. I flashed back 3-7-3, Child-On-Location, then continued on my way down the hall. If he had followed protocol, Keef would have been taking the civilian out to the rest of our group, and as soon as he caught up with me I hissed at him to get back down there.

"I found a father downstairs under the rubble and he's frantic for his child."

"Let me worry about that. Your job right now is to get out anyone you can." I saw Keef's eyes wander to the nearest window. The light from the solar flare was still bright in the sky, blinding anything that wasn't Meekrob native, but we both knew it wouldn't last much longer. "Go now. Tell the others I said to move out. I'll meet you all at the rendezvous point at 1900."

"The flare ends in 10 minutes."

"All the more reason for you and the larger group to clear out."

"But Serge.."

"No buts Private. Grab that live-light and get the hell out of here. GO!" I do not accept hesitation to obey direct orders, and my plan was to remind Keef of that the moment we were clear of that hell hole. The light from the windows dimmed, and my time was running out.

Continuing down the hall, all rooms were empty, I found the last room blocked by a fallen support beam. I threw my shoulder into it but the foolish owner had designed this building to be completely retro, meaning all the doors were solid wood. I knocked on the door, "Hello? Is anyone in there?" There was no response but something was just giving me the feeling that something was in there. With a solid wood door, I determined my only option was to burn through the door.

I removed my base weaponry to avoid causing any chance of malfunctions.

The charge and heat in my upper left tentacle rose as I prepared for a concentraited heat imprint. The risk of catching fire to the door did exist but with the amount of practice I've had, and the construction of the door, I determined the risk to be acceptable. With a charge of 1000amp I fired a point blast into the door. 1000amp may have been a bit higher than necessary but I wanted instant sublimation of the fibers to avoid any chance of fire.

At the point that my blast would have melted through the door, I heard a small scream from inside the room. "Hello? Is someone in there?" There was still no answer but I heard a rustle through the new hole in the door. I thought back to the child's room and remembered the decorated name plate I saw on the foot of the bed. "Kally? Sweetie? You in there?" Finally I got an answer.

"Daddy?"

"No I'm not your daddy. But I know where he is." A calm voice is the most important thing when working with any scared civilian, especially kids. "Now I'm going to make a hole in this door so I need you to stand back." The light of the flare dimmed another level; only five minutes left. The ceiling above creaked and dust sprinkled to the floor.

"I'm scared. It smells in here and I can't see."

"It's going to be alright okay Kally? I just need you to float back from the door. Okay? … Are you clear?" the response was muffled. It was a relief to know the kid was staying calm.

I brought the charge in my tentacle up and continued burning through the door. It was another minute before the hole was big enough for the child to get through, and she came flying through the smoke. She blasted out of that hole so fast I barely had time to react. I lifted my tentacle to avoid hitting her. My point burst only had a split second pointing at the ceiling but that was apparently all it took.

I take full responsibility for the events that occurred next. I should have paid attention to the child when she said that the room smelled strange.

My point burst cut through a gas line on the ceiling, which had already been leaking into the closet where the child was hiding. The gas ignited and the explosion blew the entire room apart. I and the child were blasted through the wall. The front of the explosion hit my face and the child's back.

It was my responsibility to get the child out safely, and I failed. The pain on my face erupted from the flames. The healing couldn't keep up, and I lost consciousness.

/ / / / / / / / / /

I don't know how much time passed before I next became aware. My body was heavy and I didn't dare open my eyes. Not with the words I heard.

"You think smelling salts work on these guys?"…One voice, my translator kicked in; they were speaking Irken.

"Worth a shot. Everything tied down there?" …Two…

"Double check that side for me but everything's set up here." …Three…

I heard the second voice speak again. "One sec." The pressure on my left side increased. "You ever seen one of them this color before Char?"

"These things come in all sorts of colors." So the first voice is Char? Something sharp slammed into my head and a jolt of pain shot down my spine. I was aware of the involuntary spasm of my limbs but couldn't stop it.

"WATCH IT! We need it alive!" A fourth voice…

"Chill Rent. It takes more than a bump on the head to take out one of them." The third voice responded to the fourth, Rent, in a joking way but the tone led me to believe that it was Rent who was in charge.

"You watch your mouth Private Krip." Krip is the third voice. Only a Private but even the low ranking Irkens are sadistic and troublesome. "If you cause us to lose the chance to find their haven then it will be your PAK not mine."

Krip knew this was no idle threat, "Yes, sir."

"Char, give Squeech that packet and let's wake this thing up."

"No need… I'm already awake." Never show the enemy that you're scared. I was tied down and there was no way out by force right now. Not till I get some information out of them. I was hoping to make them think I was totally helpless. Irkens are smart when it comes to tech and waging war, but they don't care to know the strengths of other species; which was my advantage. I opened my eyes slowly

"Told'ja it wasn't gonna die."

"Shut it, Krip." Rent barked.

"Yeah Krip, shut it." My voice cracked and I was given a sharp shock from whatever machine they had hooked to my head, but the comment was worth it to get one of them off balance. Krip made a lunge at me but Rent stopped him with a word. The pain wasn't that bad, just enough to make my neck feel numb. When it stopped I took a chance to look around for the first time.

We were deep inside the obvious purple walls of an Irken base. The four Irkens were obviously all male.

Krip looked to be 4'2" in height. Average shade green skin, with magenta eyes boardering on red. His antenna hooked up behind his head and came out with a Vortian horn hook. He wore a black shirt with line up the center of his chest connecting to a high neck collar that matched the shade of his eyes. He wore the usual black gloves and boots of an Irken soldier; the boots just covering the bottom of his pants. A cord wrapped around the side of his head, what it was for I never discovered.

The one standing closest to me held a pouch of what I could tell was the smelling salts they had planned to wake me with, so I made the correct assumption that this one was Squeech. He was much shorter than the others, around 3'5". His skin was the same shade as Krip, and his eyes were covered by a thick pair of goggles with green glass and his antennae crooked forward hanging down in front of his face. It was hard to tell with the goggles but I thought for a moment he looked sorry that I was awake. He wore a black shirt and a white lab coat. My guess... he's the medic for the group.

The one called Rent was simple to pick out of the remaining two. He stood tallest at around 4'5" and had an overall commanding presence about him. His skin was a light green with dark green eyes; or one of his eyes was green. The other eye was covered with some sort of eye patch that glowed an eerie red in the center. His antennae were the average single downward crook of a male Irken. His armor consisted of a chest plate and shoulder guards; a belt stretching across his chest held a large laser gun in place. His black pants reached down to the ankle of his boots.

This meant that the meaty looking one, with all the muscles, was Char. He was shorter than Rent and Krip but taller than Squeech, around 3'11". His skin was a dark green while his eyes were then average Irken magenta, more towards the pink side than Krip, while his antennae matched Rent's single crook. He wore a dark colored shirt that appeared to be stained with blood, which I assumed was not his own. A large satchel hung down across his shoulder and on his waist. I saw a glint of metal when he opened it for a split second. When he noticed my stare he smirked and secured the bag.

Squeech stepped forward and pressed some needle into the side of my arm. I struggled a bit but it did no good. The machine they had me hooked into had a negative current pulsing through the straps. There was no easy way for me to get out.

"If you think you're getting away then you're dumber than you look," Krip leaned back against a wall next to the plasma screen of a large computer.

"And if you think that means I'll quit trying then you're more ignorant than **you** look."

Krip opened his mouth to say something but Rent glared him into silence. The commanding officer then turned his gaze to me. "All we want to know is the location of your safehouse."

"And you really think I'd tell you?" A shock ran down my body as if every pain nerve activated at once, like a thousand needles driven into me, but as soon as it started it was over. I forced my breathing rate down but I could feel my limbs shaking. Looking around, Char was smirking, his hand on a dial.

"Yes Meekrob I do think you'll tell us, if you want to live."

I released three 6amp flashes for my response. I'm guessing their Irken PAK translated what it meant because Krip started laughing.

"He's got one hell of a mouth. Why not let me shut him up Serge?"

Rent nodded his head toward Char again. The pain was no worse this time, however it lasted longer. It may have only been a few seconds but I felt like my skin was being torn away. Some of my energy drained away as my body attempted to heal. Now I was really shaking.

"Where is the safe house?"

"…Go dive in some dookie." Again. Thousands of flaming hot needles digging into my skin and being twisted around in my flesh, then it stopped. I could hardly breathe and I felt sick. I couldn't stop shaking.

"Where is the safe house?"

"You know… you're gonna start sounding like a broken record." Again. Again. Again. Lasting for longer and longer intervals. Desperately holding in any screams I wanted to make, I felt like I was being burned alive. Red hot burning nails driving into my hands, legs, tentacles, and head, pressing down into me between my nerves twisting up my spine and bombarding my mind with electrical signals. The healing couldn't keep up with the scorching of my flesh and I blacked out.

When I came to, Squeech was standing over me with the bag of smelling salts. I was dizzy but could still pick up Rent's voice.

"Give up now, and save yourself the pain."

"Kill me."

"What's the rush?" Krip asked. "You'll be in the same state as your little friend soon enough."

"What friend?"

Krip laughed, "the kid we found you with."

My essence boiled and I struggled against my bonds. "WHERE IS SHE!" This time I added 2000amps behind my struggles, attempting to melt my way out, but it was invain because not only were those 2000amps absorbed by the straps, the machine continued drawing energy out of me. I quickly cut off my energy pouches, before they could try and drain me completely. With the way things looked. I would need that energy for healing if I ever hoped to get out of there.

No one said anything till my struggles ceased.

"The child was dead when we found you. The explosion nearly killed my team but if it hadn't happened we might never have caught you."

"De…dead…" I was in shock. The child had died and I was captured and both were completely my fault. I had promised her and she had trusted me. Keef and her father… they had trusted me… I hung my head saying a prayer for them and for myself. What other hope did I have of escaping now?

The purpose of torture is to break the spirit, to bring your captive to the point that they will say or do anything just to have the relief of death. There are two methods of torture; Physical… and mental. Without knowing what happened to the rest of my team, they had both methods to use on me. Krip laughed from the back and Char released another shot of pain, this one so long that I passed out again immediately afterwards. As my vision faded I could hear the voice of Kally telling me she was scared, and how dark it was where she was at.

That was the beginning of two, long, painful weeks in hell.


	2. Day 2

**Day 2**

The questions and electrical shocks continued throughout the night, if it was night. The times I lost consciousness, one of them would shove the smelling salts under my nose and wake me up. Once awake, the pain would continue.

They quickly realized I didn't plan to give them the location of the city so they switched to different questions. "How large is the remaining Meekrob military?" "What is the radio frequency of your military signals?" "What does the commander of your army look like?" Each moment of silence cause more pain that lasted longer and longer. I don't know how long it went on for.

A couple times they switched tactics, just to see if I could be broken at all. They asked me questions about myself. "Do you have a family?" "A lover?" "How old are you?" Questions that had no relevance to the actual information they wanted, but simply meant to humiliate me and force me to give an answer. It was these times that I can't remember if I gave them the truth or not. I remember saying something a couple times and the pain would stop. Rent would look down at me with a smile before asking another question. The pain would start all over again.

During one break from the pain I realized that Krip was missing from the room. I'm not sure how much time passed before he came back but when he did, Char left. They were torturing me in shifts. When Char returned, Rent left, and Krip took a turn at asking me questions.

The pain was more intense and more frequent with him in charge of it. He would ask me questions before he even shut the electricity off. Many times I didn't even remember hearing his question before the pain began again. How long it continued before I blacked out, I do not know.

When I came to, only Squeech was in the room. He was standing off by the computer where my vital signs were displayed on the monitor. He turned to look at me when he realized I was awake. He picked up the same gun-like-machine that he had stuck me with multiple times already and gave me another shot in the arm.

"What is that?" I remember I was surprised by the sound of my voice. It was thin and raspy, barely more than a whisper, and my vocal cords hurt just with the effort of talking.

"A medicine to speed up your healing abilities."

A small laugh escaped me, "healing the damage so that it won't kill me. You Irkens are sick."

Squeech paused. He pulled the needle from my arm and walked around my other side to stick me between my tendrils, saying nothing the whole time. With the second prick, I could feel immense relief as my healing repaired every damaged nerve across my body, though I was still shaking uncontrollably.

"Why are you doing this?" I had the feeling that this Irken wasn't as sadistic as the others, making him my best bet for escape. "What's your propose for coming to our planet?" Still the Irken said nothing, but I had to keep trying, "Do you enjoy doing this to me? Is this some kind of game to you?"

"Not to me, no."

That was not the answer I was expecting, and I fell into silence while Squeech wrote different things on a clipboard. Ten long minutes of silence; I couldn't think of anything to say. He was so vague, his words could have meant anything. I had to be careful if I wanted to gain his sympathy (if there is such a thing for Irkens), it wouldn't do to alienate him so early on.

He put on thicker gloves and poked and prodded me like a doctor would to check for physical damage. With the structural makeup of our species so different, I was surprised he knew where to look for each of my different organs. He knew what he was doing, that's for certain. He hooked an IV up to my lower right tentacle which was still in some pain since my energy flow around there is low and it hadn't totally healed. How he knew I'm not sure, since I made no reaction when he first examined it.

When he finished, Squeech picked up his clipboard and left the room. He paused at the door and looked back at me, his green goggles glowing bright in the dark room. "For your own good, I suggest that you don't antagonize Krip so much," he said; then he left.

He returned, only two minutes later, with Char and Rent.

Rent stepped forward, standing tall with his hands folded behind his back, the definition of "command". "Well Meekrob, our medic has pronounced you well again. Why don't we continue with our little interview?"

I flashed bright enough to blind him, "Why bother calling it anything other than what it is? Torture," I spat. I wanted to show him that his 'high and mighty' Irken superiority complex was a load of shit.

He smirked and lifted his hand, "That's such a vulgar word, and unnecessary, if you would just give us what we want." He gestured for Char to come forward. The muscled-Irken laughed and came up on my left side, opening his satchel. I squirmed against my restraints; that bag was giving me a bad feeling. I soon found out why.

Rent spoke, but I was too concerned with watching while Char removed an array of needles, knives, and other instruments from the bag, that I didn't hear him. A sharp jolt of pain on my right brought my attention back to the commander. He was smiling, "last chance Meekrob," he said. I wiped the fear from my face and flashed bright in his. When I dimmed, his smile was gone. He looked at me like I was a puddle of Slor Beast piss that he had just stepped in. He turned his back on me and spoke to Char, "do it."

My upper left tendril was pulled taught and sharp pain shot through it as a thin electrically-charged needle was pressed in and through and into the table. The crackle of electricity flooded my side. I tried to pull away but that was a mistake, as the needle pulled and burned at my flesh. Any movement and it felt like that pin would slice right through me. I shut my eyes tight trying to ignore the pain from the electricity so I could hold myself still as possible.

A second tendril was pulled tight. I screamed as the next needle was inserted into my flesh. The conflicting charges of electricity made me feel like I was being torn apart.

3…

4…

5…

Until each of my limbs was secured with a pin. The pain was horrible. All that energy flooding into my body felt like I was burning, freezing, being sliced away, stretched, and compressed all at once. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. The shocks caused involuntary shudders and spasms which ripped against the pins, pulling larger and larger holes and tares into my flesh. I screamed for it to stop. I screamed for death… but no relief came.

Something pressed into the outer sheaf of skin around my head, what you might look at and think is hair. Immediately the electrical current was routed from simply bouncing around my body to flowing up and out, right next to my brain. I went numb. I couldn't tell if I was breathing or not, didn't know if I was still screaming. All I could see was a blinding light; so intense that even closing my eyes did not shut it out. The rushing sound in my ears blotted out everything. I was trapped in an ocean of noise, light, and pain.

Then it stopped…

I was blind and in pain, barely breathing, and every twitch or shudder began a new wave of hurt, but I was still conscious. I felt a hand run itself over my body, everywhere it touched made me want to cry out, but I had no control over myself anymore. My lungs, eyes, arms, legs… nothing was responding. All I could do was lay there.

"We're not done here yet. Turn it back on."…Rent

"Don't do it Char." …Squeech

"Sorry sir…" …Char

"Sir, I told you from the start that this method would be more dangerous with a Meekrob. His own electrical current is interfering. If we continue this then we'll completely fry his brain." …Squeech… Even as they spoke, I didn't really comprehend what was happening. All I could understand was the pain that every shudder or movement caused. If my body was trying to heal itself I didn't know. "He's no use if he can't remember anything."

I felt another needle stick me in the right side, between my first and second tendril. Relief flooded in and I blacked out.

My return to consciousness was slow. I didn't want to wake up. I knew it meant the pain would come again, and my body gave an involuntary shudder at the thought.

"Finally awake are you? Guess I should go let Squeech know."

My eyes snapped open. Krip stood leaning against the wall directly in front of me, fiddling with the settings on a laser gun. Before I even had time to react, there was a smoking circle next to my head, from his laser discharge. Krip laughed at my shock.

"Aww, didn't scare you now did I? Go on," he said when I glared at him and brightened slightly, "I dare you to talk back to me again. I'm sure there are other puke-sacks out there that will be easier to break than you. Go ahead, give me an excuse." I took a deep breath, which I immediately regretted because of the stinging pain from my lungs, forcing myself to dim to my normal level. I squinted through the pain

Krip just laughed. "Still in pain huh? Good. Maybe you'll learn to behave now." He stood pointing his weapon at me.

"What do you think you're doing!" The door hissed open and Rent's bellow filled the room. "I told you to alert Squeech as soon as it woke up!" Krip sighed and put his weapon away as Squeech rushed in.

"Why bother healing it. We know that his squad is nearby, we could probably have an easier time with one of them."

"That's enough Krip! I'll not have you questioning my orders again or it will be you strapped to that table! Are we clear?!"

Krip looked far from happy. I remember thinking how poorly they worked together considering they're probably a specifically assigned torture team that has probably worked together before. In the end he left the room grumbling.

"You'll have to forgive my subordinate." Rent said turning toward me. "He's never been fond of being near garbage."

"That's not much of an apology."

"Who said it was an apology?" He smirked as he said this. Never taking his eyes off me he asked Squeech, "When will he be ready?"

Squeech was looking at my vitals and making notes. "Probably not today. His molecules aren't even close to stable yet. Even using physical means could cause a breakdown in his structure."

"That's the wrong answer."

"Well too bad. It's the only one you're getting. I told you to start with something else and use that as a last resort." Squeech's tone wasn't disrespectful, just a matter of fact. I was having trouble reading him. If he was my best chance for survival I'd have to get him on my side, but from the sound of it he wasn't going against orders lightly.

"hmm… Fine then. We'll let him stew for a day. No food or water until I say so." Rent said as he left the room. Shows what he knows. Meekrobs can go for weeks without water unlike the average species.

Squeech turned back to the computer mumbling to himself. I think I heard him say something along the same lines of what I'd just thought. I tested it.

"You and I both know I can go for weeks without water."

"Your point?"

"You didn't tell your commander that?"

"Did you want me to? He's allowing you a day to rest. I should think you'd be grateful."

My laugh was weak and it made my chest hurt but I managed it. "Grateful for the chance to escape maybe." At this Squeech looked at me. I still couldn't see behind his goggles, but I knew he was trying to decide if I was serious or not. I knew I was, and he probably knew that to.

The back of his PAK opened up and a communicator extended. "Come in here a second would ya?"

A few minutes later Char walked in. "What's up?"

"I need you to remove your pins from his tentacles."

"But Rent said…"

"I know what he said but there's still a slight current running through them. I have a few tests I want to run which won't work in they're still attached. When I'm done you can put them back in place." Char nodded and set to work removing the pins.

With those extra shots of whatever it was Squeech kept sticking me with, my healing had quickly scabbed over the burnt flesh that ran on the inside of my body around where the pins were stuck. Pulling them out tore away those scabs, causing pain and leaving them raw and bleeding. I winced as, one by one, he pulled all 8 pins out.

He placed the pins on the small metal table beside me. I could see my translucent orange flesh stuck to some of them. It was more seeing that, rather than the actual pain, that made me sick to my stomach. I ended up vomiting.

"Oh grose! What is that?"

"Calm down it's just the contents of his stomach you've seen plenty of species do that."

"Yeah but most of those looked more chunky… that's just… goo."

I tried not to be embarrassed. Which I wasn't so much, but the taste in my mouth now was awful, and because I was still strapped to the table I'd only been able to turn my head enough so it didn't end up all over my chest, instead sliming up my entire right side. I avoided making eye contact with Char as he stared at me.

"Should I clean it up?

"No. Rent said no water for him."

I groaned. That meant I would be slimy and stinking until they decided they couldn't stand the smell anymore. Char laughed; obviously pleased by my reaction.

"If you didn't want to stink then why'd you barf all over?"

"Oh sorry," I said, "I couldn't help it after looking at your misshapen face."

"Why you…"

"Char, enough, ignore him."

Char grumbled but made his way over to Squeech. They lowered their voices as they continued talking. Between the smell and exhaustion I didn't hear much. I knew they were talking about me though because Squeech kept gesturing to my vital signs on the screens.

I started to feel extremely tired. I wouldn't have a chance to escape until they left anyway so I figured I would get some sleep.


End file.
